A Shrewsbury business woman has been inundated with emails of support from fellow traders and residents following the launch of her campaign in last week’s Chronicle to help save the town centre.
Ann DiTella, who owns the Mytton and Mermaid Hotel at Atcham and Mad Jack’s restaurant and delicatessen in St Mary’s Street, has called on council chiefs, tourism officers and fellow traders to work together to restore the town to its former glory – and she plans to approach TV retail guru Mary Portas for her expert advice.
Mary Portas.
The management consultant – known as The Queen of Shops – aims to help prime minister David Cameron to reinvigorate high street shopping centres. She will look at the problem of empty shops and how to prevent the growth of ‘clone towns’ dominated by chainstores.
And her approach includes asking supermarket giants to financially help struggling local community stores. She is due to present her findings in the autumn.
Ann said big supermarket chains and the recent hike in parking charges are repelling customers and affecting trade. She will host a meeting on June 15, at 5.30pm for a 6pm start, at the Mytton and Mermaid, for all interested parties to come up with a plan of action.
“I have had a huge response, I still haven’t opened half the emails that have come through, I must have had about 50 sent in the last couple of days” said Ann.
“Prime minister David Cameron has got Mary Portas involved in a campaign to help save the high street. I want to see if I could get hold of her and see if she will use Shrewsbury as an example. It would be a great idea if we could get her involved.”
Meanwhile town centre traders were expected to pack out a special meeting yesterday, Wednesday, at Ashley’s Wine Bar, in Shoplatch, to tackle the town’s parking issues which traders claim are ‘killing off trade’.
Phil Freeman, chairman of Shop in the Loop, which represents traders, said: “There is a lot of concern in town that visitor numbers are down and the perception is that Shrewsbury is an expensive place to park.
“Many business people feel that charging for onstreet parking and removing ‘park and ride’ concessions is killing off trade in the town.”
To get involved in Ann’s campaign to save Shrewsbury town centre, email her at ann@myttonand mermaid.co.uk
by Charlotte Hester